The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-09-07
HISTORY OF THE D. a o.
From Ia Projection to tho Present-dar.
rett's Management.

From Us Projection to tho present-dar.
retts Management.
Tho Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Com.
pany hiss the reputation Of being tho frat
chartered and fully organized railroad in
The United States. II waa projected be.
lore Stephenson mado his Arst locomotive,
and before It was shown that ateam could
be successfully used aa motive power.
The road was open and CARS were running
on II before the Rocket made its famoua
trip over tho Observation-Disclosures road.
Ho,ge power was used and the cars drawn
liko canal boats. At one time salla were
used to propel che cars, and successfully
on windy days. a Quaker merchant Of
Baltimore, Philip i. Thomas, frat sus.
gested railroad 10 the Ohio river In 1926,
and In 1927 tho Maryland Lug.
islaturs granted a charter. after.
wards condemned by tho y Virgin
la Legislature. The Maryland Leg
islature subsequently subscribed $780,
900 10 the stock OF the road. West Point
gradual undor authority Of the Govern
ment, laid out tho frat part Of tho line.
Charles Carroll, Of Carrollton, then over
90 yea,s old, laid thu first stone In com.
memora.ion of the building Of the road.
This was on July /, 1928, and a great In
dustrial parade formed part Of the cere.
monies. The first section OF the road, ex.
tending to Ellicott'a mills, IS miles, was
completed and opened May g, 1880. III
| August Of that year m American locomo-
tive engine, built by poter Cooper, Of New
York, was put on the track. Ito ordi-
nary rate Of speed vas five miles an
hour, with one car containing twenty
passengeta. II continued TO be q
pioneer In many engineering undertak;
ings, and December "a, 1852, tho last ysil
was laid into Whesling, Va, and on Janu.
ary, 1853, the frat locomotive to cross the
| Allegheny Mountains reached the Ohio
river. Mr.. Benjamin A. Lasobs and Al.
bert Fink (for many yeate Pool Commie'
aloner for tho trunk lines) were the en-
eineers who erected most OF tho bridges
and tunlels. Mr.. Latrohe wss O Paila.
dclphisn. The original cost Of the road
to Wheeling Is said to have been $l5 1000.
600. In 1857 John ". Garret: became o
Director and the GLOWING your President,
and, under his direction, 1t became very
successful financially and gradually ex.
tended westward, reaching Chicagoiu 1874.
It was greatly crippled during the war,
some Of its bridges having been de.
stroyed and rebuilt three times, snd
for q long time only sections OF tho road
could be operated. In Its carly years tho
road did not pay; the war gave it another
set-blck, but after that it became very
profitable. Mr.. Garret. mansged the road
with great economy, never accepting for
himself moro than $4,000 a year salary.
A reduction Of ten per cent IN tho. wages
OF B, & 0. employee gave r;pe to the rail.
road riots in 1877. Under the elder Mr.
CARROTS management the stock ro5e from
81 to 200, and was rarely in the market.
1t cold on Saturday in Baltimore Tor WAS
quoted, for there is very little for sals)
at ISL. In 1882 Mr.. Robbert W. Garrett
succeeded his father rs President, and the
subsequent history Of the road ia familiar.